Incontinence / OAB Community

How many members of this exchange think that incontinence only happens to older people? If you are young, female and involved in a strenuous athletic program, there's a pretty good chance that you leak urine on a regular basis. And if you are one of those young, female, athletes, do you imagine that you are the only one with this issue? Have you ever told anyone about it? Why don't you share your story with others in this exchange.

Young women athletes are at high risk for stress urinary incontinence (or stress UI), especially when they participate in high impact sports. Stress UI is involuntary or unwanted urine leakage when laughing, coughing or on effort or when exercising.

In a 2005 study* of high school and college age female athletes in the Midwest, 28% had experienced symptoms of SUI while playing sports, exercising, coughing, walking to the bathroom, running, sneezing, jumping, hearing running water, or while weight lifting.

• Twenty-five percent of the study participants reported that they had urine leakage 2-4 times each month and 8% reported having urine leakage 2 to 4 times per week.
  
  
• The amount of leakage ranged from dampness or drops to small amounts of wetness.
  
  
• Sixteen percent said that the leakage had a negative impact on their social lives, sports and exercise.
  
  
• Eight percent avoided hobbies, social activities, sports and exercise because of the stress UI.

Perhaps the biggest surprise from the study is that 91% of the participants had never heard of pelvic floor muscle exercises (sometimes called Kegel exercises) but most said they would try them if they knew the correct way to do Kegels.

The study also revealed that 92% of the participants with stress UI had hidden their problem and not told anyone about it—not a friend, a parent or their doctor, and none had ever sought professional treatment.

If you are a young female athlete who leaks urine during any kind of vigorous activity or when you exercise, please add Kegel exercises to your regular workouts and make them a part of your daily routine. Pelvic floor muscle exercise has been shown to reduce or eliminate stress UI in many women. Here's how to do them correctly:

Kegel Quick Start Tip Sheet

*Study conducted by Carrie Carls, RN, BSN, CWOCN at Passavant Area Hospital, Jacksonville, Illinois and presented at the Society of Urology Nurses and Associates (SUNA), 36th Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, October 2005.